Evergreen Reporter

Two individuals from Tulsa have been sentenced for their involvement in selling illegal drugs on the dark web, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Aaron Michael Thomas, aged 42, for several charges including the introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, maintaining a drug-involved premises for distributing pregabalin, and possession of child pornography. Thomas received a sentence of 78 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Court documents reveal that in 2022, an investigation was initiated by the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service into an illegal vendor suspected to be one of the largest prescription drug vendors operating on the dark web without requiring prescriptions. The transactions were conducted using cryptocurrency, with drugs packaged misleadingly without proper warnings or directions for safe use.

Law enforcement identified that Thomas and his co-defendant, Darren Doil Means, were shipping these packages from their residence in Tulsa. Undercover agents made three successful purchases as part of their investigation. In October 2023, a search warrant led to the seizure of over 270 pounds of various drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients at their home.

The investigation uncovered that Thomas and Means had converted a room into a packaging and distribution center equipped with encapsulating devices and misleading drug labels. Electronic evidence showed that Thomas purchased all drugs from vendors in China and took measures to evade detection by U.S. Customs when importing them into the United States. Agents also found numerous images depicting children in sexually explicit conduct.

Means, aged 59, pled guilty to charges related to introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and maintaining a drug-involved premises. He was sentenced by Judge Hill in January 2025 to three years probation.

Thomas will remain in custody until he is transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the FDA – Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FDA Office of Chief Counsel Consumer Protection Branch, Tulsa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and FBI Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan E. Michel, Aaron M. Jolly, and Reagan V. Reininger prosecuted the case.